THE TYPICAL GIRL NEXT DOOR

So...

In the wet spring morning of March 2012, I was house hunting online for a place close to my university, as my cousin's house all the way in Romford, Essex was too far to commute to my school in Hendon, London. A lovely pair they were, my cousin and his wife, but the distance was killing me. So I had to leave the comfort of the warm and lovely room I enjoyed at my cousin's house to the unknown..

Then this house at Brent Cross just behind the Mall felt like the perfect place.. why else?? It was behind a mall for chrissakes!.. Plus of course.. a place I could afford as a student. So I decided to give the advertiser a ring.. "Hello good morning, My name is Chizoba and am calling with respect to your ad online for your room. Is it still available?" I asked. "Oh yes darling! it is..It is a single room and the housemates are wonderful! we have people from different countries and if you respect other people's culture then you would enjoy this place" replied the soft voice on the other end of the phone. She had an accent.. sounded Italian.. or French.. I never was good with accents so I had no idea. One time at a station I asked a man from Manchester if he was South African. The dude gave me a puzzled stare like I was nuts. Well, the house sounded like fun, and so I was excited.

"Is it okay if I can come for a viewing?" I asked. "Oh yes darling, will you be able to come at 2pm?" she asked.
"2pm is perfect" I replied, having no idea whatsoever what my schedule was like. "thank you very much, see you soon".

See, I was a Master's degree student in London, with a family that supported my every need. I am the first and only daughter of my parents and ever since I could remember, my dad has always been a "study abroad" person. So here I was in London as a student. I was more like a one man army.. I made friends easily though, because somehow even without talking, I seemed to draw people to myself.. Maybe it had something to do with my face.. or eyes.. or cheeks.. I had no idea.

I knew a lot of people but had very few friends. Plus they were all back in Nigeria anyways. So I guessed a lot of people perceived me as a loner or a snob. Frankly, I didn't care.. because after series of heartbreaks and disappointments, I had given up on love and wasn't in the mood to put myself in that position again. All my fairytale imaginations of my Knight in shiny armor had turned to dust.

And that was me.. Chizoba, the typical girl next door.